NY Islanders Defenseman Scott Mayfield Played Entire Season on Fractured Ankle

The NY Islanders' defensive corps has been a strong suit within the lineup over the past few years but took a step back this season.

Today it was announced that Scott Mayfield was playing on a fractured ankle for what was essentially the entire season.

Mayfield suffered the injury during the first game of the season against the Buffalo Sabres. Towards the tail end of the third period, while the Islanders were protecting a lead, Mayfield blocked a slap shot off the stick of Rasmus Dahlin, changing the course of his season.

Mayfield missed the following seven games before returning to the lineup on Nov. 3rd. He’d be in and out of the lineup on multiple occasions, and was finally shut down for the season on March 5, with his last game being played Feb. 22. Mayfield played in 41 games this season, exactly half the season. 

"It just never healed right and couple of twists here and there and mid February was when we decided it just needed to get healthy," Mayfield said.

According to Mayfield, he is “starting to walk around,” and expects to be fully ready by the start of training camp. 

Mayfield was the target of much scrutiny this season for his poor play on the ice. He signed a 7-year extension with the organization that’ll see him paid $3.5M annually. Across social media, fans have called for his contract to be bought out after year one, wondering how the Islanders can withstand another six years of sub-par performances. 

Mayfield, a regular in the Islanders' lineup since 2016, put forth his best offensive output in 2022-23, finishing the season with 6 goals and 18 assists. Mayfield adds an element of size, physicality, and strength to the Islanders' blue line that they’ve been missing with him sidelined.

Now that it’s been made public that he played 41 games on essentially one leg, it should be fair to say he has another season to prove that Lou Lamoriello didn’t make a massive mistake with this sort of extension.